My wife and I are both retirees, As such we are members of the most vulnerable part of the population. So we take the self quarantine orders seriously. The interesting thing about that is that , for us, it entails remarkably little inconvenience. We keep each other company, and we have our 2 dogs. Our … More Corona Virus – House Arrest
We moved from Haifa to our little village (now a small town) just a little over 40 years ago. We didn’t think of ourselves as pioneers. That’s what new immigrants to Israel were back in 1880. We were just moving to a new home. We were going to a real house, with indoor plumbing, running … More Being a Pioneer 40 Years Ago
The Easter and Passover holidays have now passed. The New York Times tells us that the Biden administration is having meaningful talks with the Iranian regime over the nuclear weapons issue. And in Israel, there is still no sign of agreement on a new government coalition. The one item that I feel stands out in … More Winds of War?
Today is the day the heads of the various parties elected to the new Knesset bring their recommendations for who should be asked to form a new coalition government to the Israeli President. The President, traditionally, then asks the individual with the most recommendations to try to form a government. This time around it’s more … More The Wheels of Democracy Turn Slowly
Israeli elections didn’t make a big difference. Neither the pro-Netanyahu nor the Anti-Netanyahu groups have a clear majority. Now we all wait while the politicians try to make deals to form a coalition government. If they can’t do it in the next 4 weeks, we’ll probably have another election. What a waste!
Adolf Hitler became a totalitarian dictator in Germany in 1933. He did it without violating any democratic laws then in force in that country. He managed it stages. Each stage involved eliminating some freedom or disposing of some political opponent. America, today, reminds me of his moves to power. The “Democratic Party” in the USA, … More Shades of 1933
In about two weeks Israelis will go to the polls. Israeli democracy is unlike that of most other countries. In Israel one votes for a party, not an individual. Each party presents a list of candidates. Each list receives a number of seats in the new Knesset (Parliament) based on the proportion of votes it … More Elections in Israel – Will Anything Change?
Equity is a new buzzword being used to introduce restrictions on what Americans can read or memorialize. This is a picture of Charleston, SC, taken in 1865. Charleston was where my family lived during the Civil War. The damage was caused by federal forces that laid siege to Charleston from 1863.and is was why my … More About Equity
.That terrific storm is now just a memory. I look out the window and there is little to remember of the actual storm. Our acacia tree is gone. All the broken branches have been taken away. The snow has all melted. Most of the water has either evaporated or flowed away. It brings to mind … More Thinking Back
The snow was very wet snow. It accumulated on the branches of our trees. Soon, the weight was more than they could bear. One after another, branches gave way. Some broke off completely, Others simply fractured and dropped until either the snow fell off or they hit something that could help support the load. Our … More After the Storm
It started last night, I haven’t seen snow this deep for several years. We usually only get snow about once a year.Even then. it usually melts within 24 hours. Not this time! We have about 5 inches in the yard. Deep enough so that I can see our smaller dog go by because his tail … More Snow!!
